Modern warfare has become highly mechanized. Foot soldiers of today are supported by an array of technological marvels. Supersonic aircraft and long range missiles pierce enemy territory from the air while heavily fortified tanks and high speed troop carriers enhance capabilities upon the ground. Both air and ground support are crucial in the winning of a battle. The failure of either may spell the difference between victory and defeat.
Land mines have been developed to neutralize an opponent's ground support capabilities. These simple yet effective devices, buried below the ground's surface avoiding ready detection, explode violently when triggered. Triggering may be caused by: pressure exerted by a soldier's boot, vibration transmitted to the ground by a passing vehicle, or movement of a metallic object through a magnetic field. The explosive force of some mines is so great that a heavily armored and fortified tank may be destroyed.
Various systems have been developed to detect and remove land mines from the path of oncoming troops and equipment. One such system utilizes a plow mounted on the front of a tank and driven through the soil to expose and sweep aside mines. These mine plows have been effective when combined with powerful, heavy tanks since, their power and tractive ability easily propel the plow through roots, clay, or uneven terrain.
The standard mine plow has two separate blades for cutting the earth and exposing mines. These blades are generally oriented in V-shaped fashion at the front of a tank or other vehicle. When driven forward through the ground surface, two earthen berms are formed of spoil material pushed tangentially along the blades away from the path of the vehicle. The spoil material often contains mines and other unexploded ordinance which did not detonate upon contact with the plow.
While V-shaped blades provide adequate protection for a single vehicle equipped with such, they are impractical for clearing large areas of mines. In clearing large areas, the plow is usually systematically moved in parallel paths across the entirety of the target area. Without overlapping the paths by a minimum of one half of the V-shaped blades, overall width, one can not be assured that the area being cleared is indeed free of mines. Such an overlap prevents previously exposed berm material from being plowed back into the previously cleared area. Due to the inefficiency of the currently available mine clearing devices in eliminating mines from large areas, a need has arisen for a more efficient device.